


You're My Rose

by phantasising_niam



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, M/M, Soul Bond, Soul-Searching
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-15
Updated: 2015-02-15
Packaged: 2018-03-13 00:59:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 19,978
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3361913
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phantasising_niam/pseuds/phantasising_niam
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Everybody is born with a tattoo on their wrist, it's a seed. The closer one gets to meeting their soulmate, the more the tattoo develops. Once they fall in love, it turns into a rose. Everyone's rose is different, and everyone is always looking at their wrist, checking, waiting. But Niall is different, he wears a bandage over his tattoo, and covers it with bracelets. He doesn't want this one thing to dominate how he lives his life.  But then, Niall meets Liam, and his wrist begins to itch.</p>
            </blockquote>





	You're My Rose

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [You're My Rose](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/98348) by niamandstuff/phantasising_niam (same person). 



> Hi guys! This is my first time posting on here, I have only ever published this story on Wattpad before. This was my first AU, but I think it went well and hope you like it! I don't have much else to say, so without any further ado, here's 'You're My Rose'!

Niall's P.O.V:

I'm not going to pretend, it bothered me. Actually, scrap that. I hated it. I hated the idea that we had no choice as to when or who we fell in love with. What annoyed me most was how people reacted to it. It was like an eternal stage of waiting until they finally found 'the one'. Except, they didn't. Because it wasn't them who essentially decided it.

You see, I was born with a tattoo of a seed, just like everyone else. Over time, the tattoo would grow, to form a plant, and when I found my soul mate, the plant would blossom into a rose. Everyone's rose was different, but we were all stuck with it once it appeared.

Even though I was no different, I treated the situation unlike anyone else. All around me, people were waiting. It was as if they had no choice, but then again, I guess they didn't. I didn't like that. I hated the fact that this one thing could just dominate my life like this. So I covered it.

I hid my tattoo with a white bandage, covered with wristbands and bracelets. My mum would change my bandage every two days, while I looked away. I was very grateful that she understood my choice, it meant that she never revealed what my tattoo looked like. I didn't want to know.

The last time I had seen it, I was thirteen. It was still a small seed, but broken apart, with a small shoot, outlined with a greeny silver colour. I remember the day when I realized that I didn't want to be told how near I was to meeting my soulmate. I didn't want to be told whether I had met them yet, or whether they were somewhere in my future. I wanted a choice. I remember I looked at my wrist in disgust and burst into tears. My mother had heard and walked into my room. She asked me what was wrong, and I can't even recall how I worded my reply, but somehow she understood, and came up with the plan of how to keep it covered.

I clearly remember when I walked into school the very next morning, and everyone's eyes looked from my wrist to my face, from my wrist to my face, and repeated the procedure in disbelief. I was hated at first, but people soon got over it as they realised they had more important things to worry about. I was glad.

My life was fine, absolutely fine. But then one day, I met the one person who changed it all.

Liam Payne.

*

It was just another day. Or at least, I thought it was.

I woke up as usual, along side my alarm clock. I hit the top of it to shut it up. I grabbed my clothes on the way to the bathroom, and fixed my self, brushing my teeth, getting dressed and making my hair look at least half reasonable. After my daily routine, I retrieved my school bag from under my desk and jogged down the stairs, into the kitchen. I didn't feel like breakfast today, so I simply drank a glass of orange juice and made myself lunch, which I later placed in my bag.

I still had ten minutes left when I was ready, but that was okay, I could just listen to music at the bus stop for a while.

Before leaving, I slid on my white converse and placed in my ear buds. I almost forgot my bracelets! I grabbed a handful from the bag hanging on our coat rack and shoved them onto my bandaged left wrist. They were mostly black, but I couldn't be bothered to dig in the bag and choose a variation. So I got my keys and locked our front door behind me.

I was walking down our road when I suddenly collided with a hard object and fell to the ground. I looked up in shock and my eyes locked with that of a beautiful boy who was standing above me. He had beautiful hair, the colour of chocolate, to match his eyes, broad shoulders, and pretty pink lips, curled into a charming smile. He was the definition of the world beautiful.

"I'm so sorry! Do you need some help?" Oh, his voice was like liquid gold.

"Umm...I-yeah." He held out a hand, which I gratefully took hold of while I stood up. His hand was so soft and gentle, I thought I would melt under his touch.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to walk into you...I-um... I'm trying to get to the bus to school, I'm new here." He said with a sheepish grin. Remember how I said his voice was liquid gold? Yeah, screw that. It was liquid platinum.

"Oh! Yeah, the bus stop you want to go to is that way." I managed to say as I pointed to the empty space in front of me.

"So I figured." He smiled. Damn, that smile was contagious.

"We can walk together!" I smiled back.

And as we walked, I put my phone into the front pocket of my bag and decided to start a conversation.

"So, you're new here?" I questioned as we turned a corner.

"Yup, just moved here at the weekend."

"Where did you move from? Not too sound creepy or anything." Oh my God, Niall. Stop.

"Don't worry, um...I moved from London."

"Oh. Well this place isn't nearly as exciting."

He looked at me and smiled.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Because you're beautiful."

"I'm not beaut-"

"Yes you are, and I am not having this argument with you. What's your name?" He asked, as we got to the bus stop.

"Niall." I replied simply.

"Well, Niall, I must say I love your accent."

"That's what you get from living in Ireland." Way to stop a conversation, Niall. Real smooth.

"So,how's our school, besides the awful uniform?"

"Eh. Could be better, the teachers are all right, but food from the canteen is nasty. Like, not in a good way. Umm...People are generally okay, you can hang out with me and my friends at lunch, if you like. Oh, and avoid Jack."

"Who's Jack?" He asked curiously.

"Jack Walters. Just stay away, he's an idiot."

"Fair enough."

"Have you gotten your timetable yet?"

"Yes." He replied as he retrieved a piece of paler from his bag.

He passed it over, and our fingers brushed against each other. It wasn't one of this cliché moments though, I didn't feel sparks. Instead, a felt an itch in my left hand. I ignored it.

"Oh, it's basically the same as mine!" I said, with more enthusiasm than I originally intended. Stupid.

"Great!" I saw a sparkle in his eyes, and it made me happy, yet I don't know why.

*

The day dragged on slightly, but Liam made it all better. I was usually by sitting by myself in most of my classes, but now that Liam was there, he sat next to me. Which was great. During the past few hours, we had engaged in conversations about all sorts of things from music taste to what the world would be like with unicorns.

Finally, it was time for lunch, and Liam joined me, Louis, Harry and Zayn at our table. Louis and Harry were cheery as always, they were matched. Their relationship was the perfect example of how the system worked. They met last year, and their tattoos grew progressively. Three months ago, both of their tattoos turned into roses. Harry's was your typical big, red rose, but Luois' was different. It was a beautiful shade of blue, and covered his whole thin wrist. Their story was so typical it hurt, but nonetheless, I was happy for them. They were still my friends, and even though they could get very touchy-feely at times, they were great.

Zayn was a bit different. He was a popular kid, whereas we were nothing close to that. We weren't geeks or anything, we just didn't want to be popular and drink and smoke and go to parties to get hammered, you know? However, for some strange reason, Zayn hung out with us, and he was actually pretty cool, so we didn't question his choice.

"Hey Niall, care to introduce us to your new friend?" Louis asked as me and Liam sat opposite him and Harry.

"Hi guys! This is Liam, he's new here. Liam, these are my friends: Louis and Harry."

"Hi!" Harry greeted Liam with a happy grin.

"Hi, Liam." Louis said with a smile. "So, how's our school treating you?"

"It's okay, better than my last. And I'm lucky to have met Niall in the morning, he's helped a lot." Liam said with an appreciative look.

"So where did you move from?" Harry questioned.

"London." Liam answered simply.

"Really? Why would you want to move from London to Mullingar? Isn't London really exciting and fun?"

"Yeah, I guess. But my mum got a job offer, and the school is better here, so I guess it made sense. I didn't have many friends in London either."

"Oh. Well you have us now!" Harry said cheerfully and showed a dimpled smile.

Louis poked his fingers in Harry's dimples. Harry retaliated by taking Louis' hands, pushing them down, and kissing him on the lips.

I looked at Liam, to see his eyebrows slightly raised.

"They're together. I call them Larry." I said with a small chuckle.

"I can see that. They're cute, I like them." Liam replied.

I suddenly realized that Zayn was missing.

"Huh. That's strange."

"Hmmm?" Louis asked as he pulled away from Harry.

"Zayn. He should be here by now." I said, knitting my eyebrows together.

"Hi!" I heard a voice behind me.

"Well speak of the devil. Where were you?" Louis asked as Zayn took his seat on my right.

"Had to give my science homework in. I swear my chemistry teacher hates me." Zayn said with a huff.

"Mr.Winston? Nah, he hates everyone."

"Anyway, I'm being completely rude. Hi I'm Zayn." He gave Liam a small nod and smiled.

"Hi! I'm Liam." I heard the same sentence I had heard a hundred times today, but somehow, I never got tired of hearing Liam's velvety voice.

*

Lunch was great. It seemed like everyone enjoyed Liam's company, which was great, because I did as well.

It was now the last lesson and we had ten minutes left. Ten minutes to freedom.

"Hey, Niall. I don't get this. At all." Liam said in hushed tone beside me.

"Hmmm, how about you come to my house after school, and I can help you?"

"That would be nice." Liam answered with a smile.

His smile was beautiful. Just like his hair, and his eyes, and his lips. Oh, his lips. They were so kissable, like who wouldn't want to kiss Liam?

"Niall?"

"Hmmm?"

"You just looked a bit, uh, dazed." Liam chuckled.

That's when I realized that I was staring at him, and probably looked like a creep. Way to go, Niall.

"Oh. Sorry." I looked away, ashamed.

I suddenly felt fingertips under my chin, pushing it up gently.

"Hey. It's okay." Liam said.

And I was lost. Lost in his beautiful eyes. I noticed that they were a darker shade of brown, but had small gold flickers in them. And for a while, we just sat there and looked into each others eyes. However cliché this may sound, it was as if nothing else mattered, just Liam and I. Everything else was just background noise in our scene of bliss.

However, the damn school bell had to ring, causing us both to look away.

"All right, class! I want you to work on the next page of your booklets! That will be due in on Thursday!" Our English teacher exclaimed over the sound of people packing up and leaving.

We collected our things and walked out of the school and to the bus stop in silence.

I was still confused about what happened earlier. Did it mean anything? Did it make things awkward between us?

"Hey, Niall, can we-uh. Ignore what happened earlier? I don't want it to get in between our friendship." Liam frowned slightly.

"I-I don't want to pretend it never happened."

"Neither do I." Liam looked down with a sad smile.

"Well, the bus is here, so if we wanna go to mine, we better get on it." I playfully elbowed Liam.

"Yeah." He chuckled.

**************************

"Mum! I'm home!" I shouted as Liam and I walked through our front door.

"Hello darling! How was school? And who's your new friend?" My mum asked as she walked out of the kitchen.

"This is Liam. He's new here, and I invited him over so we can do homework together."

"Oh! Well, hello Liam!" She said with a cheerful smile.

"Hello, Mrs.Horan." Liam responded with a wave.

"We're going up to my room now, if that's okay."

"Yup. I need to go shopping soon, so you'll have the house to yourselves."

"Thanks, Mom. Come on, Li." I said, taking Liam' s hand to take him up to my room.

"Li?" He said with a smirk.

"Nickname."

"Oh, so we're at that stage now, are we?" His smirk extended.

"Shut up." I retorted.

"Okay, Nialler."

We both laughed as we jogged up the stairs, and turned right, to go down our small hallway and into my bedroom.

I sat on the bed, heaved up my school bag and patted the empty space next to me.

"Come on."

"I like your room." Liam said as he inspected the Polaroid photos above my desk.

"Thank You."

He walked over, took out his English booklet and sat beside me.

"Okay, I do not get Shakespeare one bit."

"Well, we need to change that."

And so, for the next few hours, we studied. It wasn't the most exciting thing, but I made Liam understand, and that made him happy, so I was happy.

Unfortunately, it was getting late, and Liam had to go.

"Thank you so much. I actually get it now."

"You're welcome. Any time." I reached for the doorknob of our front door at the same time as Liam, and there was that moment again. That moment where I felt my knees go weak, as his touch would make them buckle.

"Sorry." I whispered and retrieved my hand.

He opened the door and looked at me.

"Thank you again. S-see you tomorrow?"

"Y-yeah. Goodbye." My voice came out as barely a squeak.

With that, he walked out and down our drive way.

This boy was just something else.

*

"Hi." Liam greeted me.

"Hi."

"How are you, Ni?" Liam asked cheerfully, with a bouncy step.

"I'm okay. What's got you all cheery?"

"Oh nothing, nothing." He smiled.

"Okay..."

Liam sighed happily.

"What a great day."

"Liam, it's freezing and about to rain. We have double maths and science. Please enlighten me on how this day is 'great'." I knitted by eyebrows together.

"Have you not seen?" He frowned and his eyes inched down to my left arm. "Oh."

I crossed my arms in insecurity.

"Wh-Why are you looking at my arm like that?"

"J-just. Nothing." He sighed, obviously frustrated.

We stayed silent for the rest of the journey to school. Liam constantly had a thoughtful expression, as if trying to figure something out. I hoped it didn't have anything to do with me, but secretly, I kind of knew it did. Why else would his whole mood change in the matter of a few seconds?

****************

"Liam?"

"Yeah?" Liam brought his head up suddenly.

"You're going the wrong way? We have maths now." I said, pointing towards the math halls to our right, away from where Liam was walking.

"Oh. Right. Yeah, sorry." He replied as we began to make our way to math class.

*****************

The rest of the day was no different: Liam was always distracted, and his expression was a mix between sadness and confusion. Nobody questioned him, but when Harry did, Liam said he was fine. Well he obviously wasn't 'fine'. And by the end of the day, I was worried and sick of the fact that I could have caused this.

We were about to part ways, seeing as his house was opposite mine, when I finally decided I had to know why Liam was being like this.

"Liam, what happened?"

"What do you mean?"

"For the whole day, you've been off in your own world, not speaking or anyth-"

"Why?" Liam asked.

"Why what?"

"Why do you cover it?"

"I-I" I was completely caught off guard by his question. Why did he need to know why I covered my tattoo?

"Wh-Why do you need to know?"

"Because! I do, Niall!" I had never seen Liam angry before, and I didn't like it.

"You've barely known me a few days, and now you need to know why I cover my tattoo? You realize it's kind of personal, right?"

"Niall, please." He sighed.

"Fine. I hate it, okay?! I hate the facts that I get no choice! No control on who I spend the rest of my life with!"

"Yeah, but if they're your soul mate, you'll love them, right? So what's the problem?"

"Because. I want to choose who I fall in love with, not some stupid tattoo." I sobbed on the last few words.

"I don't get it. You'll fall in love with them anyway, because they're your soul mate. So, it doesn't matter whether you choose them at first or not, because in the end, it'll be as if you chose them anyway."

"NO! Urghh you just don't get it!" I was angry by now.

"No, I don't!"

"Liam, it's best if we both go home."

"No, Nialler. Please."

"Just tell me why you needed to know."

"B-because."

I turned to leave, but felt Liam grip my left arm.

"Niall." He breathed. " I needed to know, because m-my tattoo." Tears flowed down his face. "It's grown. Ever since I met you. That day, just before I knocked into you, my wrist started to itch. And I looked down and realized that it had grown. That's why I walked into you. Because I was looking down at it."

"B-but you don't know it's me. Not 100%."

"You're the only one, Niall. The only one that I feel anything towards. Please don't tell me you feel nothing towards me."

I stayed silent.

Liam sighed. "And I would know for sure, but you cover it. So I can't tell. Niall, what if it is me? What if we we're supposed to be together? Are we just going to ignore that?"

"I-I don't know."

"Can I try something?"

"Why?"

"Can I?"

"Oh-okay."

He moved closer to my body, wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me into a kiss. His lips moved against mine, and I had to contemplate what was happening before I could respond. His lips were warm and smooth against mine as I kissed back. Slowly, I put my arms around his neck, and I felt comfortable with him.

Liam pulled away gently, and we both dropped our arms.

He suddenly yanked his long sleeve up, and moved his arm near me.

"See, it's nearly blossoming." He showed me the evidence. He was right. His tattoo was a green stalk, with a two small, green ovals on top, daring to blossom into a flower.

"I'm sorry. I-I can't." I began to cry as I ran to my house. Once I got there, I rushed up the stairs and fell on my bed, weeping into my arms. How could this be? Could Liam be my one? I didn't even know how I felt about him. I thought about how I felt when we touched, I thought about the kiss.

This wasn't how it was supposed to be.

I felt an itch in my left wrist. Again.

I didn't want to be in love. I didn't want to be a victim of the system.

*

Liam's P.O.V:

Niall was the one. He had to be. He was the only person I felt something, anything towards. But, if he hid the tattoo, there was no way of knowing. If he really was my soul mate, maybe I would never know. He was the first person I ever had these kinds of feelings towards. I loved everything about him. His beautiful eyes that I got so lost in, his smile, his laugh, his voice, his bleached blond hair. I loved the way his name rolled off my tongue, and how he said mine. So how could I make him understand?

All of these thoughts and doubts circled my mind as I lay in bed, waiting for sleep to overtake me. It was already two a.m and I was still awake, I decided it was no use trying to get to sleep, so I turned on my laptop and searched through the internet. I don't remember how or when I drifted into sleep, but I woke up to my alarm with my laptop still on my lap.

I completed my usual routine of getting ready for school, throwing on my school uniform, and walked out of my house at the same time as always. As I looked up from locking the front door, I saw Niall standing at the usual spot where we wait for each other in the morning.

"Hi." I sighed.

"Hi." He responded, his voice groggy from sleep or...crying? "Are you okay, Li?"

Am I okay? Seriously?! " 'M fine."

The journey to school was agonisingly silent. The first few lessons in school weren't much better. Every time I looked at him, I felt a pain in my chest that I couldn't bear, so by lunch time, I had refrained from trying to make conversation with Niall.

"Li, can I talk to you?"

My head jerked up.

"Um, s-sure, Ni."

So we went into the closest hallway, away from the loud craze of the lunch hall.

"Liam, you have to understand this is hard for me-"

"Hard for you? Let me tell you something. Having the one person you think you love and them not returning the feeling is awful and heart-breaking, okay? So I really don't understand how it is possibly worse for you than it is for me."

"Li, I never said I didn't. I'm just finding it hard to make the choice right now, I'm confused because this is the first time I have these kind of feelings towards anyone. And it scares me, okay?"

"Don't you think it scares me too?" I furrowed my eyebrows together.

"I still don't want to look at it. I just need time."

"That's fine. I just hope you make the right choice." And with that, I walked away.

***************

knock knock knock

I ran down the stairs and opened our front door, to reveal Niall standing outside, wearing black skinny jeans, a hoodie and white Converse.

"Niall? What are you doing here?" I said, my voice slightly angrier that I intended it to be.

"I need to tell you something."

"Fine." I replied, hoping it would be something I wanted to hear.

"Remember how I said I wanted a choice?"

I nodded.

"I always wanted to make the decision. And I always said that I will not let this one thing get in the way of my relationships, but I realize now that that's exactly what I'm doing. And I'm hurting you in the process, and that's the last thing I want to do. I can't say I love you yet, hell, I've only known you for a few days and I don't even know what love feels like. But I promise, I'll get there if you are willing to wait." He had a lone tear streaming down his left cheek.

I walked up closer to him and wiped it away. "I can wait forever if that's what it takes."

*

Niall's P.O.V:

I was very happy that I had told Liam how I felt and he accepted it. I knew I wasn't ready for a relationship with him yet, but he said he would wait, which I was very grateful for.

"Hello Ni." Liam said as he kissed my cheek. I froze.

"Umm Liam?"

"Oh. Oh I'm-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. I don't know, I guess I just-"

"Don't worry. It's fine." I said as we began making our way to the bus stop as usual.

"Have you done the maths homework yet?"

"Yeah, I have, what about you?"

"No, I don't get it. I swear our teacher is awful at his job."

"Yeah, he's pretty terrible." Liam replied with a low chuckle. "Why don't you come over to mine after school, and I can help you with, if you like."

"Oh my God would you? That would be great." I said, smiling.

"Sure, Ni. I don't mind."

Somehow, I felt like things were back to normal. It wasn't exactly as if we had established a normal, as I had only known Liam for a few days, but it just felt like the positive atmosphere was back.

***************

"Hey guys, this is Perrie. You wouldn't mind if she sat with us, would you?" Zayn asked as he sat in his usual place. But today, a girl sat next to him: Perrie. She had hair of a pastel purple shade, pretty blue eyes and a nice, reassuring smile. She seemed nice.

"Of course not. The more the merrier!" Louis smiled at Perrie.

"So how did you two meet?" Louis questioned Zayn.

"At a party. But then we realized we have a few classes together." Zayn said as he looked at Perrie with a grin.

"That's nice. So tell us a bit about yourself, Perrie."

"Well, I'm really not that interesting. I like to read, draw and listen to music. I like to sing as well, but only when I'm by myself."

"Oh, really? Hazzabear here is quite the bit into music here too."

And so, Perrie and Harry got engulfed in a deep conversation about music tastes and bands, while we opted for the regular lunch chat.

***************

"Right. So what are trying hard to understand?"

"I dunno. Just the whole thing generally."

"Okay. Well how about I give you a few example questions, and see where you go wrong?"

"Sure."

Liam handed me a piece of paper with a few questions I had to answer, and I began going through them when I felt Liam's stare on me.

"Why are you staring at me?"

"Nothing." He chuckled and shook his head, with a fond expression. "Nothing, nothing."

"I'm choosing to ignore this and carry on with the work." I huffed and finished off the questions. "Done." I said, causing Liam to lift he head from reading a book I was guessing he picked up while I was working.

He proceeded to mark the work I had done, and pointed out my mistakes. After he explained what I had done wrong, we revised for the upcoming exam. However, it was soon getting late and time for me to leave.

"Thanks, Li." I grinned at Liam as he opened the front door for me." You're a great friend." I said and hugged him tight.

"It's okay, Nialler, any time." He replied, bowing his head down a little with a sad smile.

"Bye, Liam."

"Bye, Niall."

Just before I left, I heard him whisper. "I love you." And I creased my eyes shut, blocking the tear that dared to fall.

*

The past few weeks were great. I had met up with Liam a few times, sometimes to do homework and sometimes to just talk and listen to music together or watch a movie. I felt a lot closer to him, and gained a trust that felt special. Even though I had been friends with Harry and Louis for a long time, my friendship with Liam felt like something different.

It was Thursday and me and Liam walked to the canteen for lunch. As soon as we sat down, we heard Louis and Harry cheering.

"What's all this about?"

Zayn and Perrie held their left arms up, sporting a fully blossomed rose each.

"Oh." I smiled. Perrie was honestly a great girl, and her and Zayn were really great together, so I was happy for them.

Suddenly I heard a choked noise next to me and looked over to see Liam. He was smiling, but I knew that it wasn't one of his genuine smiles. "I'm sorry. I have to go." His raised arm muffled his speech as he turned and paced away.

"Is he alright, Nialler?" Louis asked with a worried expression.

"I'm...I'm not sure."

"You should go check up on him, you know him more than any of us."

"Yeah, I will. In a minute, I think he needs a bit of space."

"Good idea." Louis stated and turned to Zayn, asking about his rose.

I tried to last a while, just so that Liam had some time to think. Why did he react so negatively? Of course, I had a suspicion it had something to do with the situation between me and him, but I thought I made it clear that he would have to wait?

After ten minutes, I decided I was tired of worrying and sick of hearing about roses, so I gathered my things and left to look for Liam after saying goodbye to everyone. And for another fifteen pointless minutes, I searched the places where he could be. Corridors, the first aid room, the library, outside...Nothing. There was one place left and I dreaded it.

As I walked into the toilets, I heard a sulking and sniffing on the other side. I looked up from the door to see Liam crouched in the corner of the bathrooms, enclosing himself as his arms were wrapped around his knees.

I felt a pain in my chest and my left wrist began to itch.

Damn wrist.

"Li?"

Liam's head pops up at the sudden sound of my voice.

"Niall? Why are you here?"

"I was looking for you everywhere. I got worried. I'm not going to ask if you're okay, because I already know the answer. So why are crying?"

"I know I'm a terrible friend, but I can't help but want what Zayn and Perrie and Louis and Harry already have." He sulked.

"Liam..." I sighed.

"I know, I know...I'll wait. But how long Niall? What if I wait forever and you're still not ready for a relationship? We both deserve love."

"Liam...I-I...Okay."

"What?" He gave me a quizzical look.

"C-Can we start with one date? An-and see how it goes?"

"Are you sure, Ni?"

"No. But when was I ever?"

Liam chuckled along with me. He stood up and walked to the sink to clean himself up. He soon looked as he said 'presentable' but to me, he looked perfect as always.

*

"Mum! Can I uhm...talk to you?" I said from behind my mother as she stood by the kitchen sink.

"Of course, hun!" She turned around with a bright smile and sat on the chair opposite me at the small kitchen table.

"Well...so you know Liam?"

"Yes! He seems lovely." Her grin extended.

"Well..uhm...I have a date with him this week."

Her smile dropped. "Oh. Well, that's great but...what about..." She trailed off at the end of her sentence, but we both knew what she was talking about.

"I don't really know." I sighed."Liam accepts my situation. It's not like a relationship is guaranteed after one date, right?"

"No, but what if Liam does want that?"

"I haven't figured that out yet..."

My mother gave me a weak, pitying smile. "I'll make you some tea. You go head upstairs, hun. You have a hell of a lot to think about."

I nodded, slowly got up and shuffled to my bedroom in my fluffy winter slippers. Once I got to my room, I fell on my bed and let out a loud, frustrated sigh.

Liam deserved someone amazing. Someone who would love him and not be afraid of it. Someone who he didn't have to wait for. But I did love him. At least, I thought I did... What I loved most were his chocolate brown eyes. I also loved how he was around me: Kind, almost protective. His voice was melodic to my ears and I could never get enough of hearing it. His hair looked so luscious and smooth I wanted to run my fingers through it. I loved the little birth mark he had on his neck, I wanted to kiss it. I wanted to kiss him, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. If I did, he would assume things and I'm not sure I wanted that.

I heard a quiet knock at my already open door.

"I have tea." My mum said from the doorway and began walking towards me as I sat up. She passed me the mug of warm tea and sat at the foot of my bed.

"Do you love him?"

"Yes.I think so."

"Well, then I guess the date will help you decide on that, hmm?" She asked.

"I just can't help thinking that he deserves someone who he doesn't have to wait for, someone who doesn't hide it, you know?"

She nodded slowly. "Just see how it goes. If you both want a relationship, then great. If that goes further and you're the one, Liam's rose will have grown, so he doesn't necessarily need to see your one."

"I-I guess." I sighed yet again. "But what if he wants to?"

"I think he'll respect your choice, as he does now. If you want to remove that bandage, you can. Nobody is going to question you. It won't be as if you disappointed someone." She gave me an encouraging look.

"No. At least-Definitely not now."

"Just think. How much do you love him?"

*

"Hey Ni! Time to go!" Liam shouted from downstairs.

I quickly jogged down the stairs, wearing kight grey skinny jeans, a white shirt, and a red and black flannel shirt. 

"You look amazing, Ni." Liam flashed me a smile. 

"Th-thank you." I whispered with a sigh.

'Well boys, have fun on youre date!" My mother grinned at us from the kitchen doorway.

"Thanks mum, will do." I replied as I put on my black shoes. 

"Ready to go?" Liam asked.

"Yeah." I said, opening the front door. " Bye mom!" I shouted.

"Bye Niall!" We were outside and I was shutting the door when we heard my mother's voice for the final time. "Use protection!"

I rolled my eyes and we both laughed in unison.

"Alright, well the car journey will take a while, so get comfortable." Liam said as we got into his red car.

"Why? Where are we going?"

"Now that, dear Niall, is a surprise." He gave me a wink before taking off down the road.

I shuffled in my seat and leant my head against the window. I looked at the droplets of rain hitting the window, and soon felt my eyelids become heavy and sleep overtake me. 

***************

"Wake up, sleepy head."

"Ugh no!" I moaned and turned, to face Liam.

"You need to, Ni. We have a limited amount of time."

I rubbed my eyes and looked out of the car window. We were in a parking lot in the...airport???

"Li, wh-why are we at the airport?!"

"Surprise." He said simply.

"Umm yeah! Where are we going? And for how long? You didn't tell me to pack any bags."

"Nope, your mom and I did that for you."

"You're avoiding the question. Where are we going?"

*

"Come on." Liam says, as he opens the passenger door of the car for me.

"Thanks." I hop out with a smile.

We walk towards the entrance of the airport after locking Liam's red car. I was very impatient, I had no idea where we were going, but Liam was holding two sports bags, so I was guessing we were going to be staying for the weekend.

"Um Liam, I can hold my bag you know." I said shyly.

"No. This is a date and I'm the one taking you out." He replied cheerfully with a step in his walk.

"Oh yeah. I kind of forgot this was a date. I mean, we're at an airport!" I exclaimed.

"Well it is." He smiled again.

We got to the big glass sliding doors and walked inside, the warm air hitting us, making me blush instantly. I was completely oblivious as to where we were going, so I just followed Liam as he looked at a screen and began rushing down to the right gate.

We finally came to a halt and stood behind a young mother and her son.

I looked above the desk and at the T.V screen on the wall:

British Airways

From: Mullingar

To: London

"London?" I asked in shock.

"Yeah." Liam sighed. "A few days ago, you said you'd never been and it was a part of my life that I want to share with you." He admitted.

I hugged him. "Thank you. This is the best date ever."

"Alright, it hasn't even started yet!" He laughed.

"I can already tell."

****************

We got through the rest of the airport easily: Check-in, security, etc. We had plenty of spare time left before the flight, so we eat at Nando's : My favourite. Once we finished our meal, Liam payed (I insisted on doing so, but he said he was the one taking me on a date so he should pay).

After going through our last check of passports and tickets, we boarded the plane. Liam's place was next to mine, and he was by the window, but we swapped because Liam said he had been on a plane before, while I was childish and entertained by the thought of looking at white fluff in the sky. So, Liam sat in the middle.

The flight wasn't too long. Liam slept, but I was too excited and hyped up to sleep.

Finally, after a never-ending stream of clouds, a city appeared. With high buildings, a long river, bridges and bright lights.

"Liam!" I patted his shoulder in excitement.

He shuffled awake. "Hmmm?" He glanced out of the small window of the big plane. "Oh! We're here." He grinned.

We heard a tone from the speakers. "Hello. This is your captain speaking. I hope you are having a pleasant flight so far. We are slowly approaching London Gatwick airport and will arrive shortly. Please fasten your seatbelt, place your seat into an upright position and lower your armrests. The local temperature is 9 degrees Celsius and cloudy. I hope you enjoy your stay and on part of the crew, thank you for choosing to fly with British Airways."

We landed with a sudden hit, and halted after rolling slowly.

"Alright. Let's do this."

*

"Where we going then?" The taxi driver asked from the front of the car.

Liam gave him an unknown to me address and we began to drive. The scenery was amazing. Bright lights and big buildings were things I was not used to in Mullingar. London had this beautiful charm and I was loving it.

"We're here." The driver announced.

Liam handed him the money and we got out of the car. Liam took out out our bags and lead me to a tall building with modern apartments, lit up in white, with two well trimmed pot plants each side of the big door. My eyes widened in shock: it looked expensive. Very expensive.

"Liam no offence, but how did you afford this?"

"Oh, this is where me and my mum used to live." He smiled. " My mum didn't want to sell it, so I can come here whenever I want."

"It looks very expensive." I admitted as we walked into the polished lobby.

"My dad works in America, he's hardly ever here, but it's good money." Liam explained as we got into the lift. Liam pressed a button with the number 8 on it, I was guessing that was the level. We felt the lift shudder to life and soon, the doors slid open, to reveal a small hallway. The walls were white and there stood a small mahogany table with a plant, we passed it.

"Here." Liam said as he went to open the door right in front us. He inserted the key and opened it.

The apartment was stunning. Covering most of the wall ahead of us was a big window, there was a beautiful view of all of London. Once again, I was stunned by the shining lights of the city.

The living room was open plan and there was a modern kitchen on the right. In the centre of the living room was positioned a black sofa, and a T.V stood on a small long table in front of it. A wooden coffee table separated the two pieces of furniture. On the left of the apartment were glass stairs, and we walked up them, to see a small hallway, which looked more like a balcony with two doors leading away from it.

"There's two beds in one of the rooms, so do you want to sleep in that one?"

I nodded slowly, still in awe.

The bedroom was suitably modern, with two single beds situated on the left. A door on the right revealed that the room was en-suite.

"This is amazing, Li."

"Thank you." He grinned. "Our date is in an hour." He said, looking down at his watch. "So, I'm going to change in the other bathroom, and I'll leave you to change here. We'll leave in forty minutes." He smiled again before leaving the room, I gave him a fond look.

I couldn't wait for the date.

But (if it was ever going to happen) how would I invite Liam on a date? It would never live up to this!

However, I shook the thought out of my head and got ready for the date.

I still had ten minutes, so I jogged down the stairs and sat on the floor in front of the massive window. The city was beautiful. It gave me a feeling I couldn't describe, but I loved it.

Suddenly, I heard a sound behind me and turned around, to see Liam at the bottom of the stairs, looking perfectly beautiful as ever.

*

"You look amazing." I sighed.

He smirked. "You don't look to bad yourself, Nialler."

I smiled.

"Come on we should get going. He said, walking towards me and extending his arm in my direction. I gratefully took hold of his hand and got up.

We put on our shoes and left the building, fingers intertwined. Somehow, a taxi was waiting for us straight away. I was guessing Liam called it in advance, because, I mean we're in London.

The car journey was short, and silent, but not awkwardly. I kept looking through the window, at the illuminated city that I loved.

We hopped out of the car, and I glanced at the building in front of us. It was a French corner cafe, it looked elegant and charming.

We walked inside, and a waiter came up to us, he was a bit petite, had a black almost pixie cut, and to be honest, was quite adorable. As he lead us through the restaurant, I realized me and Liam were still holding hands.The waiter gave us a table by the window, with candles set on it.

We sat opposite each other, I was still holding his right hand with my left above the tabletop. The waiter passed us a menu each. I chose Ratatouille and creme brulé for dessert.

As I received my glass of orange juice, I looked at Liam. Properly at him. Now, I don't know if I've said this before, and if I have, I'm going to say it again. He was beautiful. Everything him about him, every little detail was perfect. Every time I looked at him, I noticed a new detail. A new barely-there freckle, a new kind of glimmer in his eyes.

"So, how are you liking London so far?"

"I love it. Somehow, it has this certain feeling about it that beckons me."

He laughed. "I'm glad. I like it too."

"Why did you move then?"

"I told you. My mom got a job, and the school was better."

I hummed in response.

"Besides, if I didn't move, I would never have met you."

"True." I chuckled and sipped on my drink.

"It was actually a coincidence."

"Hmmm?"

"That I met you. If I hadn't gone the wrong way, I wouldn't have knocked into you."

I laughed. "Well I'm glad you did."

"Yeah, me too."

We looked into each other's eyes for a long while. There was that feeling again. That cliché feeling where everything stopped, and suddenly, it was just me and Liam. Just us and this moment. His deep brown eyes locked onto my blue ones. Every time I looked at him, I felt almost small. He was so beautiful, like a fine piece of art, and I was just someone admiring it.

"Ratatouille and spring vegetable soup." The petite male with a name tag saying 'Dan' presented us with our meals and a smile.

"Thank you."

"Enjoy. And if you need anything, just call me over." He walked away briskly.

"Oh my God, this is heavenly." I practically moaned at my first bite.

Liam swallowed hard. "I'm glad you like it." He grinned.

We finished our main course, and we waited for dessert.

"Larry?"

"Yeah. Oh, it's what I call Louis and Harry."

Liam laughed deeply. "I see. Well, we would be....Niam?"

I chuckled, slightly uncomfortable. I sighed as 'Dan' placed down our desserts.

The creme brulé was delicious, and after Liam payed, we stood up to leave. However, a hand on my shoulder interrupted me. I turned to see Dan.

"By the way guys, I couldn't help but fangirl about you. You're really cute together."

"Thanks, Dan." Liam said in a way that made it look as if they had been friends for years.

"Do you guys know each other?" I questioned.

"Yeah, since secondary school." Dan smiled a teethy grin.

"You should come and visit us in Mullingar." Liam said.

"Only if I can bring Phil."

"Deal." Liam chuckled, and we left.

**************

"Aaaaarrrhhhh!!!" I shot up and screamed.

"Ni? Are you okay?" Liam quickly got up and asked, panicked.

"N-Nightmare." I shivered.

Liam sat next to me and hugged me. "Ssshhh, it's okay Ni. Whatever it was, you're safe now. I'm here with you." He said stroking my hair.

"S-stay please." I whispered.

"Okay." He shuffled so we were both laying down next to each other and he held me close with one hand, rubbing soothing circles into my hip with his thumb. " You're okay, Ni. You're safe." He whispered.

His words calmed me down, and his comforting touch made me feel safe.

Suddenly, my left wrist itched.

Again.

*

I awoke rubbing my sleepy eyes. I felt Liam's warm body against mine, embracing me. His arms were wrapped around my waist, and my head was in the crook of his neck.

Waking up in someone's arms was the best thing, I felt so loved and...warm?

"Morning, Nialler." Liam said in a deep, sleepy tone.

"Hi, Li." I said against the skin on his neck.

As Liam turned his head, I spotted the birth Mark on his neck, and kissed it gently. Liam smiled at me and gave me a slightly puzzled look.

"I've always wanted to do that." I admitted.

"We should get up." Liam said.

"Hmmmmm, I don't want to."

"Well I need to go do a little shopping for the weekend, so you can lay in while I go out to buy food." I looked up to see him smiling at me.

"Are you sure?"

He nodded.

"M'kay." I hummed and cuddled the duvet as Liam got out of the bed.

When he stood up and stretched, I realized he wasn't wearing a shirt. And damn those muscles, and they were flexing, dammit. I licked my lips and averted my eyes. But I think he caught me staring, because he looked over his shoulder and chuckled.

Soon enough, Liam was ready and popped his head into the bedroom.

"Bye Ni, I'll be back in a few." He said.

"Okay, bye Li."

******

I had the most amazing dream. We were on our date again, but this time, Harry was waiting on us with Dan. And before me and Liam got back into the taxi, we kissed.

It was the most amazing kiss ever. Loving, gentle, yet urgent. What a shame it was just a dream.

******

I heard the loud unlocking of the front door from downstairs and slowly arose from the bed. Walking down the stairs, I rubbed my eyes again, this time getting the sleep out. I shuffled towards the kitchen, looking out of the big window.

It was a dark day, with rolling grey clouds, it looked as if it was about to rain. I heard a noise in front of me, and looked in the kitchen. Once I saw the sight before me, I gasped.

"L-Liam?"

****************

"N-Niall." He gasped.

"What happened?!"

"I-I don't know." He sighed. Liam's face was bruised, he had a black eye and a red cut down his cheek. His hair was a brown mess atop his head, his t shirt was slightly ripped at the bottom, and his hoodie was missing, revealing grazes and red marks on his arms. His eyes were swollen, from what looked like crying. Looking at Liam so hurt caused a sharp pain in my chest.

"Oh my God Liam!" I exclaimed and rushed to him. I wanted to hug him, but I was very aware that would hurt. "Come on, we need to get you cleaned up."

"No, I'm fine. I'll do it myself." He said with a wince.

"Haha no!" I laughed.

"Sit down. I'll try and find some things to help you. Do you keep medicine in the bathroom?"

"Kitchen." He shook his head and walks to the sofa.

I fetched some Paracetamol, a cloth and a small bowl, filling it with water. I gathered up everything on a tray and added a glass of water. Walking over to Liam, I saw that he was struggling to sit on the sofa.

"Let me help you." I said, placing the tray on the table and holding Liam's arm so he could sit down with my support. "Here you go." I handed him the glass of water and a painkiller.

"Thank you." He whispered, wincing again.

I realized that his cut on his cheek gave him pain when he spoke. "Shhh." I whispered. "I'll take care of you." I took the cloth, sunk it in the water and gently wiped Liam's face. He winced yet again. I carried on, cleaning up his face. I ran my fingers through his hair, making it look even a bit as before. It didn't matter, but I felt the urge to do it. "Wait." I said, pointing my finger at Liam and jogged up the stairs. I collected a t shirt for Liam, and some sweat pants. I ran down the stairs and placed the clothes on the sofa. "Do you need help getting changed?"

He shrugged slightly, with a small gasp.

"I'll take that as a yes." I took of Liam's t shirt carefully and saw that he had fresh bruises scattering his torso. I glided my fingers gently past them. "Oh my." I whispered. I gathered the t shirt I previously retrieved and put it on Liam.I knew it would be a bit awkward, but I slowly got Liam's trousers off, not making eye contact with him. I knew I shouldn't be thinking it, but damn Liam's muscles were amazing. Sadly, I covered his legs, putting on the dark navy sweat pants.

"Okay. We need to talk. Do you know who did this to you?"

He shook his head gently. "I have no idea."

"Alright. What did they take?" I questioned.

"My phone. Lucky I didn't bring my purse, they only took the ten pound note I had for shopping. I didn't have anything in my pocket- wait! Oh my God Niall check the back pocket of my jeans."

I did. "Nothing."

"Sh*t!"

"What?"

"The tickets, Niall! They took the tickets. I had the return ones in my back pocket as well, and I forgot to take them out after we got home from the airport!"

"Well sh*t. We're screwed." I sighed in frustration. What could I do? I didn't have enough money, and who knew whether Liam did? He probably spent all his money on this weekend.

"I don't have any money, or my phone and I can't remember my mum's number..."

"That's it! I'll call my mum!" I smiled and did just that.

***************

Luckily, my mum was nice enough to buy us plain tickets, as they weren't very expensive. However, the flight was on Tuesday, meaning that we were going to be in London for basically three more days.

"Well, better make the best of it." Liam sighed.

"What do you want to do?" I asked him

"For now, I'm tired and it still hurts a bit. Can you lay down with me?"

"Sure, Li." I smiled and lay down on the sofa, beside Liam, and pulled the blanket over the both of us. We were in the same position as we were this morning, with Liam wrapping his arm around my waist. My head was yet again close to the crook of his neck. I raised my right hand and drew invisible circles on Liam's warm skin near his collarbone. I later kissed the spot.

I would be lying if I said my left wrist wasn't itching again.

************'**

I awoke in Liam's arms again, making a mental note that it was the best way of waking up ever.

As I fluttered my sleepy eyes open, I saw that he was still sleeping. His eyes were shut, his breath even. He looked beautiful, even though he had the scar and bruises, he was still perfect to me. He looked so peaceful and pretty, I kissed his forehead lightly.

"Good morning." Liam's raspy voice said.

"Hello." I smiled.

We just lay there, looking at each other in peace. This moment was perfect.

"We should get up soon." Liam admitted.

"Yeah." I sighed.

I aided Liam in getting up, and we made cereal for breakfast. Eating, we discussed our plans for the day.

"What do you want to do?"

"You're not going anywhere today!"

"But you have this whole big city to see!"

"We also have two days. My mum sent me an email, and the plane leaves in the middle of the night between Tuesday and Wednesday."

Liam huffed.

I grinned at him in satisfaction.

"Alright then, let's see what's on T.V." Liam surrendered.

I laughed and walked to the living room before picking up the T.V remote. However, Liam suddenly took it out of my grip. I chased him around the room, trying to get the remote.

Somehow, I tripped up, holding Liam's arm, pulling him down on the ground with me. I ended up hovering over Liam, feeling his hot breath on my skin. Our faces were inches apart.

"Are...you...okay...." I whispered, sighing.

Our faces were now extremely close. My eyes darted from Liam's eyes to his lips. I felt a certain attraction I had never experienced before: a longing.

I leaned in, attatching my lips to Liam's. His lips were warm, and soft. I soon felt them move against mine, it was a blissful kiss. Not as if I had any previous experience, but I thought it was amazing. The way Liam's lips felt against mine, fitting together like a puzzle. Unfortunately, I found it hard to breathe, so had to pull away for air.

We looked into each other's eyes for a while.

"I-I..."

"Sshhh..."

"We should um...get up." I muttered.

"Good idea." Liam replied.

So, we got up and settled on the couch, watching some kind of romantic comedy. But all I could think about was that kiss, and how I wish it could happen again.

*************

"Hey Ni." Liam's loud whisper awoke me.

"Hmmm?" I shuffled in his embrace and rubbed my eyes before opening them.

"You were crying." Liam said, frowning.

"W-Was I?" I asked, but I knew the answer as I felt fresh tears on my cheeks. I remembered the dream I had. Liam was all beaten up again, I tried running to him, and helping but I couldn't lift my feet off the ground. It was as if they were stuck and I couldn't move them. So all I could do is stand there, watching Liam crying in pain in the kitchen, as I stood there in tears of agony.

As soon as I recalled the nightmare, I began shaking.

"It's okay Ni. Whatever it was, you're okay now. You're safe, I'm safe and we're here together, okay?"

"Oh-Okay." I whispered.

He gently kissed the top of my head, and embraced me tighter, rubbing soothing circles into the skin on my back.

**************

When I woke up again, it was morning. I turned, expecting Liam's warm body to be against mine, but the sofa was empty apart from my body.

"Li?" I asked in a hushed tone. "Liam?" I asked again, lifting myself off the couch and looking around. He wasn't anywhere in the living room or the kitchen.

I quickly got up from the bed, and searched around me. He was no where to be seen.

Where was he?

What if he went somewhere and would be hurt again?

I began rushing up the stairs when I heard a sound above me. I looked up rapidly, to see Liam at the top of the stairs, with damp hair and no shirt on.

"Li!" I ran up to him and hugged him.

"Are you alright, Ni? You look frightened." Liam said with a confused face as I pulled away.

"Yeah, I just-you weren't there-and I thought..."

"It's okay Ni, I was just having a shower!" Liam said, embracing me.

I kissed his cheek. "Good."

"Now why don't we go downstairs and have breakfast, hmm?"

"But there's no food..." I scratched the back of my neck and bit my bottom lip, pulling on it with my teeth.

Suddenly, Liam let out a noise. Was that...a moan?

His cheeks turned a light red as he clasped his hand over his mouth in shock. "Oh God, I'm sorry!" He said, ashamed.

"It's okay, Li. Completely fine with me." I winked and chuckled, acting smug all of a sudden. "That'll come in handy later." What is wrong with you, Niall?!

Liam looked at me with a surprised expression.

I felt ashamed and began to jog sown the stairs, when I felt a hand wrap around my wrist. I looked up behind me.

"What was that?" Liam asked.

"I-I don't know!"

"It's okay, I was just confused, because you're not sure about us, and all of a sudden-"

I cut him off with a kiss to his lips. They were just as warm and soft as I remembered, and I loved the feeling of them against my own again. As the kiss got longer, I wrapped my arms around his neck, and Liam put his around my waist, pulling me in closer. I pulled away slightly.

"I am very sure about us." I pointed out.

*************

"I think we should go out." Liam stated.

"Okay, if you feel up to it." I replied, smiling.

"Great, we can leave in the evening."

"Why the evening?"

"Because I saw the way your eyes lit up when you saw all of those lights, you'll be able to see them up close." Liam grinned at me.

"I-I. You payed attention?"

"Of course I did, Ni." He admitted. "Now, what do you want to do until then? We have about an hour."

We were sitting on the sofa, after finishing a game of Monopoly (essentially, Liam won, but I insisted he cheated).

"Cuddle?"

"Sounds good to me." Liam smirked at me, and we changed positions, so we were both laying down, spooning. Liam was the big spoon, enveloping my body.

He stroked my revealed hipbone with the pad of his left thumb. I sighed contently at the feeling.

"Niall, I need to tell you something."

I shuffled and turned around, so I was facing Liam. "Anything." I whispered.

"I need to tell you, promise me you won't freak out and know that I don't expect you to say it back."

I nodded.

"Okay. Well, you already know that I've been developing feelings for you. I may be premature saying this, but I'm sure of my feelings. I love you, Ni. I know that may sound crazy, I've known you for barely a few weeks, and we're not even-I don't know what we are." He sighed. "But I know I love you."

I nodded slightly, processing his words. I knew I couldn't say it back, not yet. I knew that I had really strong feelings for him, and maybe I did love him. But what if I waited too long, and Liam left? What if by the time I thought I was ready to say it, he had had enough of waiting?

So, I inched closer to his face, and planted a soft kiss on his lips. Liam began kissing back, and moved his arms around my hips, pulling me closer to him. Our bodies were pressed up against each other, I shuffled closer if that was even possible. Tilting my head, I deepened the kiss, giving Liam more space. Suddenly, I felt his tongue slide against my bottom lip, and instantly granted him access. Our tongues were exploring each others mouths, every corner. The kiss quickly heated up, and I put my right leg on the other side of Liam's hips, straddling him. It was getting hot by now, and I half consciously grinded onto Liam.

Realizing what I did, I pulled away. "Li-I-I.." I sighed, still breathless from the kiss.

"It's okay." Hi kissed my forehead, and I lay down on his chest, our legs intertwined.

***************

"You ready, Nialler?"

"Yup." I replied, as I got up. Liam held my hand as we walked out of the building after locking the door.

"So where are we going, Li?"

He just smiled, and kissed our intertwined fingers as we walked down the street.

"You'll see." He smirked.

We walked for about twenty minutes, when we got to the centre of London. The city seemed even bigger, towering over me. The lights were even brighter up close, making me widen my eyes. I looked at all of the shop windows, the illuminated buildings in awe. I loved the attraction of the city. However, as we crossed a main road, I looked over at Liam to realize he was staring at me.

"Why are you staring at me like that again?" I questioned.

"Your eyes. Whenever you see the lights, the glimmer and shine. It's beautiful, and, as I am sure you already know, I enjoy looking at beautiful things." He chuckled.

I put my head down as we walked onto the pavement. I was suddenly stopped by Liam's pulling arm. He turned to face me and lifted my chin lightly with his fingertips before he looked into my eyes. He looked at me as if it was the last time he would ever see me. Slowly, he inched closer to my face and kissed me. The kiss was soft and loving, not urgent like before.

"I want yo show you something." He murmured.

"Okay." I whispered.

*************

"It's beautiful."

We were sat on a bench near the London bridge, next to the river. I was sitting next to Liam, our bodies pressed against each other, as we held hands and I rested my head on Liam's shoulder.

"This is where my mum told me that we were moving to Mullingar."

"So it was like the beginning." I smiled.

"Yeah." He sighed. "The beginning of what?"

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I mean, what are we, Ni? Because knowing that will really help me."

"What would you like us to be?"

"I love you." He stated. "So, Niall. Will you be my boyfriend?"

I lifted my head off his shoulder and considered the question. He loved me, and I was pretty sure I loved him. And even though my situation was slightly complicated, we could deal with that later.

"Yes, Liam. I would love to be your boyfriend."

*************

"I'm cold." I said, shaking slightly and rubbing my hands on my arms. Me and Liam went to a park, and he told me stories about when he was small. His dad used to go here with him, and hold small Liam in his hands and spin around. When he got dizzy, Liam would always shout: "Again dadddy! Again!" and when his dad told him it was time to go home, hw would pout and stomp his foot. In the end, Liam's dad always said they would get ice cream on the way home, which made Liam jump in his dad's arms and say "Daddy I want to go home now and get chocolate ice cream!". I imagined all of this while we sat on a bench overlooking the park, with the city scape behind it.

Suddenly, I felt arms wrap around my body, and shrieked in fear. Looking up, I saw that it was Liam, who was now standing and carrying me bridal style.

"Liam! You nearly scared me to death!"

"You said you were cold, so I'm warming you up." He smiled, almost proudly.

"How?" I questioned.

"By carrying you home."

I laughed. "I'm too heavy, Li!"

"You're light as a feather. Which is surprising, considering all the Nandos you eat." Liam chuckled.

"Put me down!" I insisted.

"Nope."

Realizing Liam wouldn't give up, I surrendered, cuddling into Liam and sighing in content. He was so warm and smelled of aftershave and mint, but also of the coffee shop we went in earlier to have hot chocolate.

I suddenly jumped off Liam.

"Hmm?"

I wrapped my arms around his neck, and jumped up to put my legs around his hips, like a koala. Liam stumbled a little in surprise, but soon put his arms around my body, supporting me. I rested my head in the crook of his neck and felt his walking beneath me.

It was a short walk back to the flat, and when we finally got there, I hopped out of Liam's arms so he could unlock the door. After he did so, we walked inside and I quickly ran to the sofa, jumping on it and wrapping the blanket which was hung over it around me. I saw Liam walk into the kitchen and turn on the heating before sitting down next to me and holding me in an embrace.

I tilted my head up to peck his jaw, however Liam had other ideas.

He moved his head so ended up kissing his lips instead. We shifted so I was facing him, a more comfortable position. His slightly cold lips moved against mine, but soon warmed up. He licked my bottom lip, and instantly granted him entrance. I didn't even bother fighting for dominance, as I knew he would win anyway.

Somehow, I ended up laying down on the sofa, with Liam on top of me, the blanket long forgotten, now on the floor. We were still kissing, snogging to be honest.

I broke the kiss in need of air. "Li-Liam..."

*************

It was now getting very hot, and we were both shirtless. Liam had kissed and sucked at various spots on my neck, sure to hive me hickeys. I liked that though, people would know that I was his.

Liam was now placing kisses down my torso, they were gentle and loving, like I was fragile and he was afraid of breaking me. Liam came back up to kissing my lips, as I put my fingers in his hair, causing him to moan.

"N-Niall." His fingers brushed down my sides, and hooked into the waistline of my jeans. Liam pulled away and looked at me, asking for my permission.

I nodded.

"Are you sure, Ni?"

"Yes." I sighed.

Quickly, Liam got up and carried me bridal style to the bedroom.

************

"Li?"

"Yes, Ni?" Liam asked. We were laying in one of the beds upstairs, cuddled up under the covers. I felt Liam's whole body behind me, pressed up against mine. After he carried me here, well, I'm pretty sure you can guess what happened.

I sat up, and Liam followed. I looked him deep in the eyes and said what I had feared saying all this time.

"I love you." I whispered.

His smile was so bright I swear it lit up my whole world. "I love you too."

That night, we slept in each others arms and I decided it was the most perfect twenty-four hours of my life.

*************

"What the fuçking HELL, LIAM?!"

*************

Both me and Liam shot up instantly in surprise of the booming voice. In the doorway of the bedroom stood a tall man with black hair, wearing a suit.

"D-Dad?" Liam questioned with a hoarse voice.

"I didn't know you would be here, and here you are with another boy in bed?!"

"D-Dad I meant to tell you-"

"No! I'm going out for business. I will be back in an hour, and by that time I expect you both to be fully dressed in the living room. We need to talk." He said sternly before leaving.

"Li?" I asked.

"Oh my God Niall I am so sorry. I had no idea he would be here!" Liam said with a worried look.

"It's okay. We'll talk to him, it'll be okay. He'll understand. I mean, you were in different countries, you can't tell him about everything, right?" I encouraged my boyfriend.

"No, it's...it's...your wrist...he won't like the fact that you..."

I sighed. "It'll be okay." I whispered and kissed his soft lips. "Right?"

"Right."

*************

"Dad, I'm sorry." Liam apologized. We were sat at the island in the kitchen, me and Liam on one side and his father on the opposite.

"I understand. When we're in different countries, it's very hard to communicate and I just want to make that better. We need to improve our relationship, we can work on that." He turned to me. "Now, I couldn't introduce myself earlier." He chuckled. "I am Michael, Liam's father." He said, extending his left arm. Why did it have to be his left arm? Why?

"Nice to meet you. I am Niall." I said, greeting him hesitantly with my left arm.

He looked down at my covered wrist. "Ummmm..."

Liam stepped in: "Niall covers his tattoo. He doesn't want to feel under pressure of the system and doesn't want his life to be ruled by this one thing." Liam said, his voice getting quiet towards the end, as he saw his dad's face darken.

"That is not acceptable!" He shouted. "There is a reason for this! You cannot simply go against the whole system! My son deserves to know that his partner loves him!"

"I do Dad! That's what words are for!" Liam unexpectedly barked back.

"No! I do not accept this! Your relationship with this boy is to be terminated right this moment!" Liam's father responded, as if I wasn't right there.

"No!" Liam scoffed. "You can't decide on my relationships!"

"To hell I can! I'm your father! What does your mother think about this?!"

"She's happy as long as I am, which is what a parent should be like!"

"Don't you dare criticise me! You are not going to have a relationship with someone who doesn't care about your love!"

At this point, I'd had enough, and ran out of the apartment, throwing on my shoes. Once I made it outside, I realized it was freezing, and clutched my arms around myself.

What would happen to me and Liam now? Would he leave me? I wouldn't be surprised. Everything his dad said was true: I couldn't really give him my love, he could never be as happy and satisfied as he should be, as he deserved to be. The worst thing was that I loved Liam so much, and now he had to leave. The only person that I ever had these feelings for would go. My love wouldn't matter any more, if I was going to be giving my love to someone other than Liam, I might as well not bother.

I would go back to Mullingar, but God knows how. I didn't have any money. All I had was the e-mail with the tickets on my phone in my pocket. How I would get to the airport I had no idea.

Why did Liam's dad have to get here exactly at that point? Fuçking coincidences.

"Niall!" I heard from behind me. I had walked down the road with the apartments for a while, but stopped at a bench, realizing I had nowhere to go.

"Niall!" I looked around to see Liam running to me, and stood up.

"Niall." He sighed, approaching me.

"Liam? Wh-why are you-"

"I'm sorry, Ni. I never meant for that to happen, I had no idea it could!"

"B-but your dad..."

"Oh screw him! I love you, right?" He laughed. "And that's all I care about, YOU'RE all I care about. I love you with all my heart, and I respect your will and whatever you do, I will be there with you, supporting you. I promise that not even my dad can get in our way. I love you okay?"

"Really?" I said, with a lone tear strolling down my cheek.

"Really." He said, planting a kiss on my lips.

*************

"You're kidding!" I scoffed.

"No!"

"Oh my God but have you seen Captain America? Like, Chris Evans is perfection!"

"I'm sorry, Ni. Thor is the hottest Avenger." Liam said, putting his hands up in defence.

"Nope. Captain America is, and that's final." I replied, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Well guess who's hotter than both of them?" Liam asked.

"Who?" I said, confused.

"You." He said, kissing the tip of my nose.

************

"Hey Ni?" Liam asked, causing me to look up at him from his embrace.

"Hmmm?"

"Are you free on Saturday?" He questioned.

"Yeah, probably. Why?"

"Would you like to go on a date with me?"

"But it's my turn, isn't it?"

"What?"

"It's my turn to take you out on a date!"

"Nope. I'm taking you on a date on Saturday, because I want to treat you, and because you love me, you will agree." He smiled.

"Make me." I whispered in his ear, pulling away slightly.

"Oh no you don't!" He growls, beginning to tickle my sides.

However, I quickly got out of his grip and ran up the stairs in my house to my bedroom. Not a good idea.

Liam rushed in, and tackled me to the ground, tickling me everywhere. "What do you say now?" He grinned.

"Argh, Liam." I laughed. "St-stop ahaha!"

"Not until you agree to me treating to you to a date." He grinned at me again.

"F-fine. You can take me on a date on Saturday." I said, whining and wriggling from underneath him before he stopped tickling me.

"Good." He smiled, peppering kisses all over my face.

***************

Dan's P.O.V:

"Hey, Dan." Liam greeted me through the phone.

"Hey Liam! How's you?"

"I'm good. I was wondering whether you and Phil wanted to come over to Mullingar next weekend? I miss my best friends."

"Yeah, sure-"

"Honey I'm home!" I heard Phil's deliberately overdramatic voice after a loud shut of the door and rolled my eyes at his remark.

I heard Liam's laugh. "Alright then, I'll send you the e-ticket."

"Wait, you already got us the tickets?"

"Yup." He replied simply, I could hear the smile in his voice.

I chuckled. " What time is the flight?"

Suddenly, I heard a thud, crash and scratching noise on the other line and then, silence.

"Liam? Liam? Liam!"

Phil rushed into the room "Are you okay babe?"

"I-I don't know what happened."

**************

Liam's P.O.V:

All I saw was black.

**************

Liam's P.O.V:

I felt a strong grip around my torso, and still all I could see was darkness. I felt my body being pushed to an unknown location by God knows who, I tried kicking and breaking away from this person's hold, but they were far too strong. I tried screaming, but something that felt like a hand soon clasped around my mouth. My body was still being hauled by someone, I still had no idea what was happening or why. I was in a state of hysteria, and had no way of getting out.

Soon, I felt my back hitting something hard and cold, and my eyes were uncovered. I looked around to see I was in a small, dark alley and in front of me stood a guy who was about my age. His black hair matched his clothing, and his eyes shone a cold blue.

I tried screaming again, but his hand was still covering my lips

"Shut up, lover boy." He sneered. "I'm going to take my hand off your mouth and you're going to stay silent. No tricks or I won't hesitate to hurt you, get it." It was more of a command than a question.

I nodded my head rapidly in panic.

Soon, his palm lifted off, and my lips felt the cold air.

"Who are you?" I whispered.

"Shut up! That's not important. You see, I have a little message for you. The person that sent me doesn't like you and your little 'boyfriend' together. So you're going to leave him." He grinned evilly.

"You can't make me." My voice was barely audible.

"Oh I think I can." His hand wrapped around my waist, turning and burning my skin, a whimper left my throat. He laughed. "Wouldn't want your boyfriend getting hurt now, would you? What's his name? Ah yes, Niall." Niall's name rolled off his tongue like it was venomous.

"I love him though." I choked back a sob.

"Well guess what? I don't care. If he covers his tattoo, he's obviously no match for you." He smirked.

"Yes he is." My voice was a frightened whisper.

"My boss's words, not mine. You're going to break up with him, and if you don't, well, who knows? My intentions with him won't be exactly pure." He smiled maleficently, showing his teeth and dragged the last word.

I felt tears prickling my eyes, soon running down my cheeks.

"Farewell, lover boy." He sneered and laughed one last time before leaving.

I wanted to leave, but I was too much in shock and slid down the wall behind me instead. I tucked up my knees and rested my head on them, wrapping my arms around myself. I soon began weeping.

How could I leave Niall? He would think I didn't love him and would give up on me! Or that I gave up on him! I couldn't bare the thought of not being with Niall any more. Now that I had him, I can't imagine what my life would be like without his smiles, his warm hugs, his beautiful blue eyes and just him.

Before I even considered what I would do, I thought about who could have done this. But my mind was blank. Who hated mine and Niall's relationship so much that they would go to such extremes to separate us?

The options clouded my mind as I gathered myself and noticed a small shine on the ground next to me. I looked down to see my phone. The screen was cracked, and the sides and back were grazed, but the touchscreen surprisingly still worked. I soon looked to realize that I had twenty missed calls from Dan and fifteen from Phil. I called Dan, as I walked out of the alley and started the way to my house.

"Liam? Liam, oh my God are you okay?" Dan questioned on the other end of the line.

"I um...I-I can't right now." I sobbed. "I just- I'll talk to you when you get here . The um-" I sniffled. "The ticket will have the time and all."

"Yeah-Liam we're getting there in a week. You're going to have to tell us what happened before then. Are you okay?!"

"I'm okay." I choked back another sob. "I just don't feel like talking right now."

"Okay, Liam. Me and Phil were scared to death, I'm just happy you're okay, and just tell us what happened when you can, okay? Are you sure you're fine?" I could hear the worry in Dan's voice through the phone.

"Yeah." I sighed shakily.

"Okay, Liam... Just call us later okay?"

"Yep, bye Dan."

"Bye Liam." Dan replied unsurely.

I burst into tears as soon as I hung up and realized I was nearing my house. I had no idea what I would do. Leaving Niall would be the hardest, most heartbreaking thing to do, but I didn't want him to get hurt. And judging by the person who warned me, this person wasn't messing about. How could I hurt Niall like this, though? God knows how I would say it. I couldn't just flat out break up with him, he would think that I didn't love him and just used him. Whatever I did, Niall would end up getting hurt, and I would as well, as a consequence. Either way, I had to leave Niall.

As soon as I got to my house, I ran straight up the stairs, into my room, and jumped on the bed, weeping.

**************

Liam's P.O.V:

beep

beep

beep

"Hi Li!" Niall greeted me cheerfully through the phone.

"Hi Ni." I said, my voice croaky from crying.

"Well?"

"Well, what?" I asked.

"Why did you call me?" He laughed.

"Oh. Um Niall. Could you um - actually can I - how about if you - can I-" The words wouldn't form no matter how hard I tried. I hung up and for the last time that day, broke down crying.

***************

My blaring alarm woke me up on the next day. I somehow managed to get up and complete my daily morning routine, before taking a shaky deep breath and stepping outside. I locked the front door behind me and turned around to see Niall leaning against the small wall outside of my house. I slowly walked up to him, my hands beginning to tremble.

"Hey Li!" He grinned like a child. "Are you okay? You didn't seem like it on the phone yesterday. I called you again but you wouldn't answer." He walked up to me and attempted to kiss me on the lips, but I hesitantly turned my head, so he ended up planting a kiss on my cheek.

He pouted. "Liam?"

"I umm... Yesterday- I-I." I kept stuttering on my words, as if they were trapped in my mouth and I couldn't let them out. Looking at his face placed a pang in my chest. "Ni, I'm sorry. I-I can't." I sobbed, putting my arm up, as if shielding my mouth and ran back inside my house after opening the door and throwing it shut behind me. I could hear Niall's voice shouting for me to come back.

I decided to send him a text, however awful that may be.

To Niall: I can't go to school today. I promise I'll explain later.

From Niall: Okay babe. Hope ur good, see u l8r

 

If I couldn't look in his eyes, how was I supposed to tell him what I had to so he wouldn't get hurt?

***************

Niall's P.O.V:

I was beyond confused.

There were unlimited possibilities as to why Liam couldn't go to school. I thought them over on the way there. He wasn't ill, at least I didn't think so. He didn't show any signs of sickness, but when I saw him earlier, his eyes were puffy and red as if he had cried. Why would he have cried though? Did he not trust me enough to tell me?

*****************

 

 

"Hey Niall." Louis greeted me in the corridor at first break.

"Hi Lou." I tried my best to smile.

"Where's Liam?" He questioned.

"He can't come today. He said he would talk to me later." I replied.

Louis nodded his head. "How was London?"

"It was great!" I grinned at the memory.

"Hmmm." Louis said as his eyes drifted to my covered wrist. "If you say so." He muttered, barely audible.

"What?" I asked.

"You're still covering it." He shook his head slightly.

"Um yeah." I nodded.

"It's just- why? Liam deserves to be happy, and so do you, Nialler."

"We are!" I protested.

"Yeah well sooner or later, you're going to have to show it to Liam." Louis retorted as Harry walked over and Louis wrapped his arm around Harry's waist. "Think about it." He said, walking off with Harry.

As if I hadn't.

*******************

Liam's P.O.V:

After a day of trapping myself in my bedroom, watching movies and crying, I finally gathered myself and got dressed. After taking a few deep breaths, I attempted to gather up the courage to talk to Niall. However, my breaths soon began to shake, and tears streamed down my face. I wasn't ready, but when was I ever going to be?

Sitting on my bed, I collected my phone and dialled Niall's number. After a few tones, he answered.

"Hey Li, how are you?"

I choked back the tears and tried to make my voice sound normal. "Um...I'm okay."

"Well I'm on my way back, I'll be at mine in ten minutes. Do you want to talk to me then?"

"Yeah. Bye." I felt awful hanging up, but I couldn't let him hear my cries.

********************

As I walked up to Niall's front door, fear flashed through me. I knocked on the door lightly at first, but realized that was too weak, so knocked once moor.

Soon, the door opened and revealed a smiling (as always) Niall. He quickly moved to embrace me in a tight hug. I froze in his arms.

He instantly realized and pulled back.

"Okay. So, why weren't you in school?" He questioned.

"Niall, I-I can't do this any more."

"Wh-What?" He looked at me confused, and I saw a sudden fear in his eyes.

"Us." I motioned in between our bodies. "I just can't do it."

"What are y-you talking about?" His voice quivered.

"We're over and done with, Niall. This was never going to work any way." I sighed, but he couldn't hear the sadness behind it.

"What do you mean 'never going to work'?!"

"It just wasn't okay?! You're obviously not up for a relationship! You obviously don't care about me enough to show me your tattoo!"

"I told you to wait!"

"Haven't I waited long enough?! Don't you care about me too?!"

"I do, Liam! Damn it, I said I loved you and I still do! If you cared about me enough, you wouldn't care about the damn rose!"

"How can I not care, Niall?"

"I-I...how can you do this?"

"I have to, Ni." I said, my voice faltering, the argument suddenly changing from heated to apologetic.

"No you don't." He whispered as a lone tear rolled down his cheek. If only he knew.

"I'm sorry." My voice was quiet, and tears brimmed my eyes.

"Please don't leave me." He was crying by now, and the sight was breaking my heart.

"I'm so sorry." Was all I could manage, my voice barely a whisper.

"Why, Liam?"

"I told you."

Our conversation was now an exchange of whispers, both of us crying.

"It's not true though, is it?"

"Ni..."

"Is it?! Please say it isn't. Please." He was begging. Begging for this all to be a lie, and it was, but I couldn't possibly reveal that.

"I can't. I'm sorry." I muttered, and ran off to my house before he saw me breaking down.

******************

Liam's P.O.V:

As soon as I got inside, I kicked off my shoes and shrugged off my coat before shuffling into the living room and collapsing on the sofa. I cried, and cried, and cried. All I remeber before falling asleep was the thought of Niall circling my mind.

I woke up with a sudden jerk, it was still dark so I decided to walk up to my room and slipped off my clothes before getting into my cold bed. I checked my phone to reveal that it was 4.a.m, but I felt as if I had slept the whole night. 

My eyes still felt sore from crying, and heavy when I blinked. I lay there in bed, cuddling the covers, wishing Niall was in my embrace instead. 

Even thoough I had seen him a few hours ago, I already missed him. 

How could someone hate our relationship so much? Why did it affect them in any way? 

Endless possibilites entered my mind, and I knew I couldn't jump to conclusions. The man who threatened me didn't exactly give me any clues. 

I knew it was going to be a long night, alone with my thoughts. 

***************

The weekend was painful, to say the least. There wasn't one moment when i wasn't thinking about Niall. About my love. 

My mother tried to distract me at first, with movies and taking me out shopping. But whatever I saw reminded me of him. Every place where we had gone together brought back memories, and my mom soon gave up. 

So, I trapped myself in my room yet again, digging deep under the covers of my bed, wishing I was gone. Wishing this had never happened. Wishing I had never fallen in love. Whenever I brought my arm up to wipe my eyes, I saw my half-bloomed rose, reminding me of everything. Every moment we spent together. Every kiss we shared. It was like a kolaidescope of memories, never ceasing to stop.

And even though I had seen him barely a few days ago, I missed him. I missed his warm hugs, his charming voice. I missed the way his lips felt on mine and running my fingers through his hair. I missed the feeling of my flesh against his, I missed intertwining our fingers. 

I didn't eat at all that weekend, nor did I make contact with anyone. I didn't care about anybody else.

***************

It was Monday by now, and sadly my mother would not let me miss school.

So I went. Not bothering to do much with my image as I realized I looked awful anyway. On my journey to school, I noticed that Niall was not there. Which almost made me glad, knowing I didn't have to face him. However, there was still a sadness when I looked at the emoty seat beside me. 

When I walked into school, I was fully aware of Niall's friends staring at me, feeling their eyes almost burn the back of my head as I walked pasted them. 

I spent the whole day in silence, sitting next to Niall was absolute torture. Knowing that I could easily talk to him, but feeling a lump in my throat every time I attempted to do so.

I went to the library at break and lunch, avoiding all contact with anyone. Sitting there, I bowed my head in a random book I picked off the shelf.

***************

The whole week was the same, I barely eat at all, and spent all of my time dwelling on everything. Countless times I cried. It didn't take long for my mother to declare me a 'rolling stone'.

I couldn't disagree.

***************

Niall's P.O.V:

The past few days had been unbearable. As cliché as it may sound, I felt empty without Liam. Like as if when he said those words, he took away a part of me with him.

After Liam told me that he was leaving me, I stood in my doorway, still in shock of what had happened. It was completely out of the blue, everything was great, our relationship was getting stronger, and suddenly, he crushed everything he had.

We avoided each other at school, and whenever we were forced to sit next to each other in lesson, we focused on the work, never breaking the barrier of silence between us.

I couldn't look at him without feeling a stab in my chest, so I refrained in doing so.

It was now Wednesday, me and all of my usual friends were sitting at our table.

I had my head bowed down, thinking about a certain brown-eyed boy who broke my heart. Suddenly, I heard Harry whispering in front of me.

"Is he alright?" He said in a hushed tone, to Louis, I assumed.

My head snapped up. "Don't talk as if I'm not here. I'm still fully conscious, you in know." I muttered.

"Niall, you've been miserable since Friday. Don't you think it's finally time to talk to him?" Zayn questioned.

"No. He made it pretty clear that he didn't want to be in a relationship with me any more, so why bother?" I retorted, with tears brimming my eyes, daring to spill.

Louis sighed. "I knew this was going to happen." He said under his breath.

"What?" I sighed. "You're supposed to be my friend, and support me and all you can say is that you were right? Well you were, Louis. I hope you're satisfied." I got up and walked away, sniffling, and made my way to the bathroom, colliding with something hard. I looked up to see the school idiot: Jack Walters.

He smirked. "I heard there was trouble in paradise?" He asked mockingly.

"Go away." I muttered, trying to push through.

He laughed loudly and suddenly pushed my back against the lockers. Pressing up against me, he whispered in my ear. "I don't think so." A sly grin appeared on his face, and I was fearing what he was about to do when I heard a shout.

"Oi! Let him go, Walters." Liam stood at the end of the corridor.

Jack laughed and stepped up away. "Loverboy came to save you, huh? Lucky you." He snickered before walking off.

I quickly darted away in the direction opposite to Liam, wiping away tears I didn't even know were there.

***************

Liam's P.O.V:

Thursday rolled around, and Niall still wasn't talking to me, not that I was blaming him.

But when I saw Jack pushing him against the lockers, ready to do God knows what, all my feelings were back. I was still hurting, even though I did the damage.

I was watching some kind of pointless low budget movie in the living room when I heard a loud knock at the front door. I curiously got up and went to open it.

Surprisingly, Zayn was standing at my doorstep.

"Hey Liam." He stated simply.

"Um hi?"

"I know it's a little out of the blue. But man, I can't stand seeing both you and Niall like this."

I was about to turn around and go inside, as I didn't exactly feel like crying in front of Zayn, but he stopped me by grabbing my wrist.

"I know it will make you upset talking about him, but I think it will help."

I nodded slightly in agreement. Keeping it all in and constantly breaking down over it wasn't going well, so why not.

I opened the door further, and weakly extended my arm, letting him in. We walked to the couch and sat down on it.

"So. I'm going to be honest with you. At first, I didn't like the idea of you and Niall together. I thought that he would end up hurting you, what with his whole...situation. But then, I realized that both you and Niall are amazing people, and what Perrie and I have, I wish for you."

I hugged him. "Thank you."

He patted my back. "Sure, man. But I'm going to have to know why did what you did so I can help you."

So I told Zayn the whole story, from the moment the mystery man pulled me back, tearing up at some bits. I told him how I had no choice, and how Niall didn't know this, so he assumed I didn't love him, and how much that hurt me. It was hard, and I was choking back sobs by the end, but I somehow got through it, with Zayn's comfort.

After a few minutes of silence and me trying to control my emotions, Zayn spoke up.

"I have a plan."

****************

Liam's P.O.V:

"You really think this is going to work?" I asked Zayn unsurely.

"Yeah, all you gotta do is sing what you want him to hear. He might not wanna face you, but he'll listen." Zayn smiled.

"How did you even set this up?"

"Oh I just helped a teacher with some boxes, it's all good."

I nodded slightly, trying to convince myself. We were in one of the music rooms in our school, and Zayn was recording my voice, which would then go on a mix tape CD for Niall.

I sat down at a piano, pressing a few keys lightly, before beginning to play the song.

I always needed time on my own  
I never thought I'd need you there when I cry  
And the days feel like years when I'm alone  
And the bed where you lie is made up on your side

I felt tears build up, but swallowed them back and continued singing.

When you walk away I count the steps that you take  
Do you see how much I need you right now?

I was releasing all of my feelings into this, the words explaining what was on my mind. Niall.

When you're gone  
The pieces of my heart are missing you  
When you're gone  
The face I came to know is missing too

When you're gone  
The words I need to hear to always get me through  
The day and make it ok  
I miss you

And I did, I missed him so much. He wasn't there with me any more, and when he was, it didn't matter because we made no contact.

I've never felt this way before  
Everything that I do reminds me of you  
And the clothes you left, they lie on the floor  
And they smell just like you, I love the things that you do

When you walk away I count the steps that you take  
Do you see how much I need you right now?

When you're gone  
The pieces of my heart are missing you  
And when you're gone  
The face I came to know is missing too

And when you're gone  
All the words I need to hear to always get me through  
The day and make it ok  
I miss you

We were made for each other  
Out here forever  
I know we were, yeah

And all I ever wanted was for you to know  
Everything I'd do, I'd give my heart and soul  
I can hardly breathe I need to feel you here with me, yeah

I sang the chorus one last time, and when ai finished the song, I dropped my hands flat and bowed my head. It was the first time ever when I put so much emotion into a song.

Suddenly, I heard sniffling above me. Looking up, I saw Niall standing near the door, crying.

"Ni-Niall? What are you doing here?"

"I-I heard the music an-and I couldn't help m-myself." He replied softly.

I arose from the stool and walked towards him.

"Don't." He said.

"Why?"

"Because if you do, I know I'll kiss you." His voice was full of sadness.

"Okay." I whispered, even though I knew it wasn't okay at all.

"Why?" He questioned.

"I-I didn't mean to hurt you-" I shook my head.

"Just tell me why." He said, frustrated.

I sighed. "Well I was um- I was just walking to my house and I got pulled back. I couldn't see anything. But the guy uncovered my eyes, he had pulled me into an alleyway. He threatened me that if I didn't-didn't break up with you...he would hurt you." I stated, luckily, I didn't cry, I didn't think there was any tears left for that any way.

I suddenly saw Niall run up to me, and embrace me in a hug, just as warm and caring as I remembered it. Hugging him back like my life depended on it, I heard his muffled speech.

"Oh Li, I'm sorry. I should have let you explain and all I did was ignore you. I'm sorry."

"No, I-I should've made more of an effort."

We pulled back, and Niall was still sobbing.

I moved to bring our foreheads together, looking into his deep blue eyes. "I love you Niall. And I'm never letting you go again." I whispered against his lips.

"I love you too." He whispered back.

"God, we're a mess." I chuckled.

He nodded his head softly, and we kissed for the first time in what seemed like forever.

******************

Liam's P.O.V:

"So you know that date we were planning on?" I asked Niall, as we were cuddling on my bed.

"YOU were. But, continue..." He giggled.

I chuckled. "Well it's today."

"What?" He shot up from my embrace.

"Yup." I replied simply with a smirk.

"What time?" He questioned.

I looked at my watch. "Now." I sighed, heaving myself up from the bed.

"But-but I didn't get time to prepare." He said with a pout, standing up.

I walked over to him and placed my arms around his waist. "You look perfect, Ni. As always." I whispered and kissed his cheek. He blushed as I intertwined our fingers, leading us out of my room.

We put on our shoes and coats, as it was already November.

"I know you won't answer, but where are we going?" Niall questioned after we had sat down in the car.

"You're right I won't answer." I smiled. "Wait and see."

****************

"Wait, Li....we're at an ice rink." Niall stated, stepping out of the car.

"Yeah." I grinned.

"No way! I can't skate, I'll break my legs!"

"You won't with me beside you." I wrapped an arm around his waist and we walked to the reception of the ice rink. I payed for our tickets and skates before we put them on.

Niall kept shaking his leg with nervousness.

I turned to him and cupped his face with my hands. "You'll be okay. I promise I'll keep you safe."

He nodded softly, and I planted a soft kiss on the tip of his nose, causing him to giggle.

We waited for five minutes before it was time for us to go on the ice. Niall and I held hands, stepping onto the rink carefully. It was quite large, with fairy lights strung up around it, already in the winter spirit.

"Come on, Ni. Bend your knees. There you go." I kept instructing Niall on how to improve his skating, and after some time, he seemed to be more or less capable of keeping balance. We were now skating around together, still hand in hand.

"See, Nialler. It's easy." I smiled at him.

He giggled. "I thought it'd be harder, but you're still here to catch me if I fall, right?"

"Always." I attempted to turn and kiss him, but I lost balance and ended up falling to the ice, pulling Niall with me. I was now laying down, with Niall above me, our faces niches apart.

Niall laughed. "And I thought I was the clumsy one." He bit his lip, and his cheeks took a light pink colour. He looked so beautiful at that moment, with his blue eyes sparkling.

I suddenly heard a voice in the speakers, telling us our session was over.

"We should get going." I whispered.

Niall nodded, and we somehow got up. After leaving the rink, there was aa sort of attention in the car, me and Niall stealing glances at each other.

Once we pulled up at my house, I rushed to open the car door for Niall, and he stepped out, thanking me.

"Do you uh, want to come around mine, maybe stay the night?" I asked.

"Yeah." He breathed out.

As soon as we got inside my bedroom, Niall shut the door and instantly pushed me against it, kissing me. The kiss was filled with lust, and need as I tilted my head for better access.

Our hands were soon roaming each other's bodies, my hand slipping under Niall's shirt, exploring his torso. I swiped my tongue on his bottom lip, he granted me entrance. It was getting hot now, and Niall's fingers were toying with the bottom of my t shirt

"Wait. Niall are you sure?" I questioned in between breaths.

"I'm sure. I love you."

And we continued.

****************

Liam's P.O.V:

"Sh*t!" I exclaimed after seeing the time. 

Niall instantly woke up and began rubbing his eyes. "What happened?" 

"Dan and Phil are landing in 40 minutes!" I jumped up from the bed and started tugging on yesterday's clothes. 

"Wait, let me get ready." He muttered standing up, still looking half-asleep.

"Why don't you stay here and make lunch? Is that okay?" I questioned, shoving my phone in my pocket. 

"Okay." He sighed and smiled. 

I gave him a quick kiss on the lips before throwing on my shoes and getting into the car after shutting the front door. Luckily, I always kept chewing gum in the compartment in the arm rest, so I grabbed two mint ones before driving off to the airport.

******************

I parked the car in the best space I could find and ran to the terminal. I ckecked the T.V for Dan and Phil's flight and it turned out they were in baggage claim. I walked towards the doors they would be coming out of, amd quickly texting him to let him know I was here. My head shot up when I heard a familiar voice.

"Liam!" 

I looked up to see Phil running towards me, wearing his lion hat, and Dan trailing behind him, wearing his llama one.

I hugged Phil as he got to me, and Dan soon joined in the embrace.

"I missed you guys so much! How was the flight?"

"It was alright. Phil was over-excited and kept vlogging as usual." Dan replied as Phil nodded. "Where's Niall?"

"Oh, he stayed to make lunch." I smiled.

We headed of to the car, before I put their mini suitcases in the boot.

The journey was a lot more interesting than the one before, we catched up on a lot of things that we missed. I told the guys about my new friends, and the school, which they laughed at, because they were both older than me.

The traffic wasn't too bad, so we got home quickly. 

"Niall?" I called out as we entered the house. I suddenly smelt a burning.

Niall emerged from the living room. 

"He's really cute." I heard Phil mutter to Dan behind me.

"Umm hi guys. I kind of burned the dinner, so...."

I laughed. "As long as the house isn't burned to ashes, it's fine. We can go to Nando's." I smiled, knowing it was Niall's favourite.

He grinned and nodded.

We spent the whole weekend with Dan and Phil, whom Niall soon began to call 'Phan'. I swear he had a thing with making names for couples.

The weekend was over too quickly, but we decided that me and Niall would visit my friends in London soon. At that time, I didn't know just how soon that would be.

****************

Niall's P.O.V:

We had just got inside the Liam's house after driving Dan and Phil to the airport when we heard the home phone ring. Liam jumped up from the sofa and picked it up.

"Hello?...Yes, I'm his son...Okay....." He said with a nod. ".....Wh-What?" His eyes were brimming with tears as he dropped the phone.

"Li?" I asked, rising from the couch.

He shook his head and the tears rolled down his cheeks. I rushed to embrace him, wrapping my arms around his torso.

He covered his face with his hands and sobbed.

I glanced down at the floor and saw the abandoned phone, breaking away from Liam, I picked it up, hanging up and placed it back onto its station.

Quickly, I turned back to Liam and embraced him just as before.

He kept crying, and I felt my t shirt get damp, but I didn't mind.

"He can't be." I heard through Liam's sobs.

"Li what happened?" I questioned, rubbing his back.

"M-my dad. H-he died."

Shît.

"He was f-flying b-back to America. The p-plane c-crashed." His sobbing became heavier and he wailed as he finished the sentence.

"Sshhh Li. Let's go upstairs, yeah?"

I felt him nod against my chest. Taking my hand in his, I lead the crying boy to his bedroom and we layed down on his soft bed. I covered him with his blanket and took him in my arms again.

Rubbing his back, I tried to comfort him.

"You'll be okay Li. You'll be fine."

But he kept sobbing into my chest for God knows how long. I didn't mind though, as long as he knew he had my support, I was okay.

"I-I love you, Ni." He breathed out before falling asleep.

I felt a tingly feeling in my chest.

"I love you too." I replied, brushing his hair from his forehead and kissing his temple.

***************

I woke up in the morning, abruptly realizing it was Monday. There was no way Liam was going to school though, and I was not leaving him alone.

My mum knew I was sleeping at Liam's, but I would explain the school absence to her later.

Liam now had his back to me and my arms was around his waist. I retrieved it slowly, taking caution not to wake him up.

I walked downstairs and into the kitchen, making two peanut butter sandwiches: one for me and one for Liam. I also made tea with milk and two sugars for my beautiful boyfriend and carried a tray holding the breakfast back to his room.

Once I entered it, I saw that Liam had already woken up, and was sitting with his head in his hands.

"Morning Li." I said, placing the tray on the bedside table carefully.

"Hi." He whispered.

"I made breakfast."

"I'm not hungry." He said. His eyes were full of sadness and sorrow, like I'd never seen them before. They were also tired and puffy from crying.

"Would you like some tea?" I asked.

He nodded and I placed it in his hands. "Thanks." He whispered.

I ate and he drank in silence. We didn't feel the need for words. There was nothing to say.

Once Liam finished his tea, he placed the mug down and shuffled on the bed, cuddling up to my side.

"Why him, Niall? Out of all of the planes in the world, that one had to crash." And again, I felt his warm tears on my t shirt.

"I don't know Li."

"It's not fair."

"I know." Nodding, I replied.

"I think the funeral-" He took a deep, shaky breath. "Sh-should be in London."

"Okay. Whatever you want."

"My mum still doesn't know." He whispered.

"When do you want to tell her."

"I don't." He sobbed. "But I will. When she gets back from work tonight. Will you be with me?"

"Of course."

"Always?"

"Always."

*****************

Niall's P.O.V:

"You ready, Li?" I asked from the doorway of Liam's bedroom.

He looked at me with sad eyes, biting his bottom lip and nodding his head. He walked toward me, and wrapped his arms around my torso. Liam had been particularly snuggly the past few days, but I didn't mind, he neede all of the support, mentally and physically.

"Come on, then." I said, pulling away from him. 

We walked down the stairs and inot the car hand in hand. After Liam's mom put the baggage in the boot, she drove down the driveway.

There was a silence between us in the car for the whole journey, the ignored radio playing quietly.

Liam's face was the same as it had been ever since he got the news.

Motionless.

***************

After going through the typical airport proceedures, we sat in the plane, Liam leaning his head on the window.

Our finger were intertwined, and Liam squeezed my hand.

I looked over at him, his eyes were sadly glancing at mine. 

"You'll be okay, Li. The funeral will be fine, I'll be there with you."

He nodded slowly with an emotionless expression.

"Always." I said, kissing his hand.

***************

"Your turn, Li." I whispered in Liam's ear. 

He stood up unsurely, and I could see his hands were shaking. 

"I love you." I whispered.

He walked up to the microphone at the front of the church and shut his eyes, taking a deep breath. "Hello, I'm Liam, I was his son." He sighed before continuing. "I'm not going to dwell on the fact that my father is gone. I'm going to remeber the memories that will always stay with me." And he told the story of how him and his dad would go to the park when he was small, and how his dad had to spin in him around and bribe him with ice cream so Liam would go home happy. Liam laughed at the memory. "And although my dad didn't support all of my choices, I think he would be proud that I made them myself. I hope so anyway."

With that, Liam walked back to me with a sad smile. At least it was a smile.

The eulogies continued. Liam's mom and a few friends made the typical speeches, about how precious life is, etc...

'Well that's that." Liam said as we got up to leave. 

As we were nearing the front door of the church, I saw a face all too familiar to me.

"You." Liam whispered. He advanced towards the boy. "What the hell are you doing at my father's funeral?"

"Well, let's just say me and your father had a little agreement." Jake smirked and snickered, leaning against the wall next to the door.

"What?!" LIam's whole demanour changed. His face was full of anger, the only emotion I'd seen in him for the past few days.

"Oh, I think you know." Jake's smirk grew.

"Oh my God. It was you!" Liam said, clasping his hand around his mouth.

Jake slow-clapped smugly in response.

"Liam? What are you talking about?" I questioned.

"It was him! He threatened me so I broke up with you!"

Jake chuckled.

"You son of a-"

"Liam, stop." I pulled Liam back, as he was about to punch Jake.

"I would listen to your little boy toy if I were you, loverboy." Jake sneered.

"Niall get me out of here, or I swear to God..." Laim's eyes got suddenly darker, his face full of rage like I had never seen it before.

"Come on, Li." I took his hand and lead him out of the church, wwalking back to the apartment, but stopping when we were out of sight of the church. I p;aced my hands on Liam's shoulders. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." He sighed. "I just-I can't believe that my own father would go to such extremes to-" He sighed again.

"Well we're together now. And that's all that counts, right?" I smiled and looked into his beautiful brown eyes.

"Right. Always."

"Always." I kissed his lips.

***************

Niall's P.O.V:

"Are you okay?"

"What?" Liam asked with a confused expression.

"You've...You've been looking at my wrist a lot." I admitted.

It was true. Liam had been stealing glances at my covered wrist ever since we had got back from London. He was a bit distant, and didn't talk as much as before. I knew that he would obviously be upset after losing his dad, but this was something different. I knew it.

Liam sighed. "I'm just...curious, that's all."

I shuffled from his embrace and moved, sitting cross legged opposite him on his bed.

"You've been acting strange recently, and I know it's not about your dad. That was different."

Liam looked down at his lap."I've just been thinking."

"About?"

"About us."

"What about us?" I asked, knitting my eyebrows together.

"You know." He breathed out.

"No, I don't." I shook my head in disagreement.

"About your rose!"

Silence.

"Right." I sighed. "Well. Let's get it over and done with." I said, tugging off my bracelets, when Liam grabbed hold of my hand.

I looked up at him in confusion.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" He questioned.

I nodded. "I love you. I know that. Nothing can tell me otherwise. Even if... Even if we're not supposed to be...I'll always love you, no matter what. But I know that if I uncover it, it would make you happy, and as long as you're happy, so am I." I smiled and kissed his cheek.

He smiled back, and his beautiful brown eyes lit up. "C-Can I do it?" He asked.

I nodded my head before he softly wrapped his fingers around my wrist. Gently, he removed each bracelet one by one, placing them beside me.

Suddenly, I took what was happening into account. After all these years, someone managed to break down my walls. But it wasn't a sign of weakness, I almost felt stronger than before. Especially because that someone was the most amazing brown-eyed boy, who made my heart skip a beat every time he looked at me.

I felt Liam's fingers at the middle of my wrist, and realized that I has shut my eyes.

Opening them, I looked down at my left wrist.

Nothing.

There was nothing at all painted on my skin. Not a rose, not the seed I had before. The only thing was a small white scar that was placed where the visibility of my veins ended.

"What?" I whispered. "How is that possible?" My voice was drenched in worry.

"I-I don't know." Liam sighed.

"What so I-I don't have a soul mate?"

"Ni please don't say that." I am shook his head.

"Well there's no other way of explaining it." I choked back a sob. "I swear I didn't mean for any of this to happen. If only I had been normal like everyone else and-" Tears were flooding my eyes, streaming down my face. I felt Liam's arms wrap around me.

"Sshh, Ni. It's okay. We'll be okay." He mused.

The last thing I remember is falling asleep in his embrace.

****************

"Niall. Ni, wake up." I heard Liam's voice wake me up, as light beamed through his bedroom windows.

I rubbed my eyes, and finally fully opened them.

"Ni, look." Liam said, pointing to his left wrist. There was now two red rose flowers blossoming from one stalk on Liam's wrist.

"It's you, Li."

"What?"

"You're my rose."

 

*

THE END 

*

**Author's Note:**

> That's it, guys. I hope you liked it, because I really enjoyed writing it and feel like it went well. I love writing AU's, especially soul mate ones. I also enjoyed writing Niall's character, and how it developed throughout, because it shows that even if a society seems perfect, it's not for everyone. Your feedback would mean a lot, and I would really appreciate it! I hope to post more on here soon, but until then, goodbye!


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